Coach of Alabama football Nick Saban announces his retirement
After spending 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa, Nick Saban, one of college football’s all-time great coaches, won seven national championships, six of which he used to rebuild Alabama back into a national powerhouse. On Wednesday, Saban announced his retirement.
“For Terry and me, the University of Alabama has been a very special place,” Saban said in a statement. “Our 17 years as Alabama’s head coaches have been absolutely wonderful, and we have loved getting to know the Tuscaloosa community. It’s more important to consider our legacy and methods than just counting the number of games we win and lose. We always made an effort to do things correctly. Being the greatest player possible, helping players produce more value for their future, and helping them succeed in life as a result of being a part of the program was always the aim.
“Hopefully, we’ve succeeded in doing so, and Alabama will always be home to us.”
The 72-year-old Saban just finished his 17th season at Alabama, where the team lost in the Rose Bowl to eventual national champion Michigan. With 201 victories, he is tied with Vince Dooley of Georgia for the second-highest number of victories at a single school in SEC history, only surpassed by Bear Bryant’s 232 victories over his 25 seasons at Alabama.
Leading prospects to coach Alabama when Nick Saban retires
Alabama to legendary heights under Bryant, taking home six national crowns and 13 SEC championships. With nine conference titles and six more national titles, Saban brought the Crimson Tide back to those pinnacles.
Greg Byrne, athletic director at Alabama, said, “Nick Saban is one of the best coaches of all time, in any sport.” “He is the epitome of a leader, mentor, and coach, and his influence extends far beyond the football field. Even if his tenure as our coach is over, his influence will never fade. What a privilege it has been for us to see one of the greatest do it ever in person.”
Sources informed ESPN’s Chris Low that Saban insisted on informing his players of his retirement ahead of time, and he did so on Wednesday at a meeting at 5 p.m. ET. A normal team meeting was planned for Tuesday, but due to inclement weather, several players were unable to make it. As a result, the meeting was postponed to Wednesday. After spending the holiday weekend at their Florida home, Saban and his wife, Terry, returned to Tuscaloosa on Monday.
For around fifteen minutes, Saban told the players and staff in the team room that he was retiring. Next, he said that Byrne wanted to speak with them. Saban departed from the room as
trainer Nick Saban
was speaking, and he later had more conversations with his staff.
Almost everyone in the program was taken aback by Saban’s declaration and its timing. Before announcing to his players that he was resigning, he spent an hour conducting Zoom interviews with prospective assistant coaches. After deciding to resign, he also conducted interviews with certain applicants on Tuesday, and reports said he didn’t want to go further in that direction.
During the meeting on Wednesday, Saban informed his players that he had carefully considered his choice and thanked them for their support. He informed his players that it was time for him to resign due to the changes in college football, including the use of the transfer portal and tampering, the extension of the recruiting calendar, and the use of NIL as a front for bidding on transfers and high school players.
Low was informed by sources that Saban was becoming more and more irritated with “what college football has become.” He places a strong emphasis on developing players, forming teams, and working as a team, but these days it appears to only matter who can win the largest contract and receive what in the NIL.”
Saban never had a losing season in his 28 years as a collegiate head coach. During that time, he won seven national titles, 12 conference crowns (11 SEC, 1 MAC), and 19 bowl game victories. His two poorest seasons at Michigan State (finishing.500) were in 1996 and 1998.
After spending two years in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins, he went back to college football to bring back one of its most illustrious schools, which had not won a national championship in fifteen years. In his seventeen seasons at Alabama, he won more games (201) than the Crimson Tide did in the twenty-four seasons that elapsed between Bryant’s retirement and Saban’s hire (171).
With a 292-71-1 record as a college football coach, Nick Saban is ranked sixth all-time in the FBS in terms of victories and 12th overall in NCAA college football history, division-neutral. In 1990, his only year coaching Toledo, he guided the team to a MAC title. After serving as Bill Belichick’s defensive coordinator for four seasons with the Cleveland Browns, he was hired as the head coach at Michigan State, where he led his first three teams to bowl games and then led LSU to the 2003 national championship.
But it was at Alabama that he really established himself as one of the all-time great college football coaches.
Following a 7-6 season in 2007, Alabama won 16 consecutive seasons with at least 10 victories under head coach Nick Saban—the longest winning run of any team in the AP poll era (since 1936). This despite playing 107 games—14 more than any other program—against AP-ranked teams while under Saban’s coaching.
Nick Saban’s Alabama
Being the only head coach in the BCS/CFP era (since 1998) with two undefeated national championship seasons, he guided the Crimson Tide to undefeated national championship seasons in 2009 (14-0) and 2020 (13-0). Since 1998, he has won seven BCS/CFP national championships, more than any other head coach. Next with three (Florida and Ohio State) is Urban Meyer, followed by two each from Dabo Swinney of Clemson and Kirby Smart of Georgia.
Even though Saban’s NFL career was cut short after only two seasons, he has continued to develop NFL talent after moving to Alabama. In the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, three Crimson Tide players were chosen, including Bryce Young, who became the team’s first overall selection in the common draft period (since 1967). Over the common draft period, Saban has had the most players taken in the first round of any coach, with 49, including 44 at Alabama.
Not only did Saban lead Alabama to four Heisman Trophy victories, but he also excelled in recruiting. Though he didn’t take over at Alabama until 2007, Nick Saban had eight of the 18 No. 1 overall classes during the ESPN 300 era (since 2006). No coach has had more No. 1 recruiting classes than Saban. More than three No. 1 classes are held by no other head coach.
Stuart R. Bell, president of Alabama, remarked, “Words cannot fully convey our thanks to Coach Saban for his extraordinary leadership and devotion to The University of Alabama over the last 17 years.” His dedication to quality has established the bar for our program in the classroom and on the field. We are appreciative of his enduring influence on our student-athletes’ lives as well as the amazing experiences his teams have produced for our students, alumni, friends, and fans.”
As illustrious as Saban’s coaching background is his coaching tree, which launched the careers of many head coaches, including Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin, Texas’ Steve Sarkisian, and Smart. Among the other well-known head coaches on Saban’s staff were Mike Locksley (Maryland), Dan Lanning (Oregon), Mario Cristobal (Miami), and Brent Key (Georgia Tech).
The Crimson Tide made it to the College Football Playoffs eight times out of ten seasons under Nick Saban. In his last season, he came up just short of the top spot, guiding the Crimson Tide from a rough start to an upset of then-No. 1 Georgia in the SEC title game and back into the College Football Playoff before losing to Michigan in overtime in a Rose Bowl semifinal.
Since 1936, Nick Saban has been the number-one program in the AP Poll for more weeks than any other program (apart from Alabama).
After extending his contract in August 2022 until February 2030 for around $94 million, Nick Saban became the highest-paid college football coach once again. When asked at the time whether he intended to “stay here” for the duration of his contract renewal, Saban had a prepared response.
“Are you still here?” he asked. “I will definitely be coaching here.”
Greg Sankey, the commissioner of the SEC, believes Nick Saban isn’t done with college football yet.
Being acquainted with Nick? He’s not going to give up on the game. Sankey, who was in Phoenix for the NCAA meeting when he learned of Saban’s resignation, said, “He’s stepping away from a role.”
Since Saban is leaving, Kentucky’s Mark Stoops has become the SEC’s head coach with the longest tenure (2013).
In reference to the future head coach of the Crimson Tide, Byrne said that his objective in the hiring process for a new coach “is to be comprehensive yet expeditious.”
Byrne said, “Our ideal candidate will be great in player development, recruiting, and connection building, excel in Xs and Os, and have the overall ability to manage this storied program.” “During this process, there will be a lot of rumors floating about. My next public speech will be to introduce our new coach. Don’t trust anything if I don’t tell you.”
